Residents pay the cost for water company's glitch

Illinois American Water bills people in west suburbs a year's worth of charges after software error

June 15, 2014|By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Tribune reporter

James Klima, of Lombard, is angry at Illinois American Water because it is charging customers hundreds of dollars retroactively for a computer error. He says customers should not have to pay because of the glitch. (Darrell Goemaat, Photo for the Tribune)

Some west suburban residents are crying foul against a private water utility after being hit with charges as high as about $200 to make up for what the company said was a billing error over the past year.

Lombard-area resident James Klima paid about $115 to Illinois American Water Co. last month. He opened this month's bill and found a balance of $320.39.

The increase was listed in the summary as a $202.48 "adjustment."

About 2,450 households in unincorporated areas near Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn and Lombard are dealing with similar adjustments, according to the company.

Illinois American switched software in May 2013, and a monthly sewer treatment surcharge of $14 to $17 failed to appear on customers' bills for the past year in the process.

"Billing for these services was temporarily interrupted last year when the error occurred, while customers continued to receive the related services," the company said in a statement. "This has been corrected. Prior to May 2013, the customers had been paying the charges."

The surcharge was approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in 2002, according to the company.

Illinois American can bill customers for service up to 12 months after the service is provided, according to the commission. A letter sent by the utility to affected customers is dated May 31.

"This is not a new charge," Illinois American said in the statement.

But that argument doesn't satisfy Klima and other customers, who have been given the option to pay the charge in monthly installments.

"They should eat this cost," said Klima, a contractor. "This was their mistake. When I spoke with them, they were like, there is nothing we can do."

Gloria Atkins sat down to pay her water bill recently at her home in unincorporated DuPage County and experienced the same bill hike.

Atkins said that she, her husband and other homeowners did not understand why the error took a year for Illinois American to discover.

"A company like this is going to not notice a billing error for 12 months?" she said. "That's ridiculous."

Atkins also said it was unfair for the company to spring this on customers at the onset of summer, when customers will be using more water and have higher bills already.

"I don't think us customers are responsible for their error on their computer system going back a year," Klima said.

Illinois American said in a statement that it has sent updated bills and letters explaining the charge to its customers.

"At times errors do occur during a system conversion of this magnitude," according to the statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

Customers can spread the balance out over 12 months, and anyone with questions can call 800-422-2782.

Atkins said she is not yet sure if she and her husband will pay the balance in full or spread it out over a year.

But she said that she frustratingly will pay because there is nothing else she can do.

"You go out and you buy a shirt and you pay $25 for that shirt, and you've been wearing that shirt for one year," Atkins said. "OK, Joseph A. Bank comes back and says, 'We haven't charged you enough for that. … We want our money. This is basically what it amounts to."